Carnival and The Power of Multiple Stories
“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they aren’t?true, but they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
There is something powerful about being able to tell stories. We see it as a potent form of communication for use in work, play and our wider communities. On the surface, it is an influential conduit to influence and persuade others of a certain kind of thinking. When we scratch under the surface we find it is a complex web of signs, symbols, metaphors, and iconography aka semiotics. The reminder from Chimamanda Adichie to not be focused on one take came to mind with the recent media coverage of the 2024 Notting Hill Carnival. So let’s focus on a few.
??The Backstory
In 1959, Kelso Cochrane, a carpenter of Antiguan descent living in Notting Hill attended a hospital to get treatment for an injured thumb. On his way home from the hospital he was set upon by a gang of white youths in a racially motivated attack and was stabbed to death by a stiletto knife. This death - still unsolved to this day - sparked off a series of events to address the racial tension many of Caribbean descent were experiencing in Notting Hill and other parts of London. Activists aimed to create a sense of belonging for many Caribbean expatriates through events focused on their culture.
Claudia Jones is credited with creating the first of these events, the Caribbean Carnival, in St Pancras Hall in 1959. She drew on her experience of the Trinidadian Carnival to influence the event. Two others of Trinidadian heritage, Edric and Pearl Connor, took this model and expanded it to other halls around London.
in 1966, community worker Rhaune Laslett held the first Notting Hill Fayre "We felt that although West Indians, Africans, Irish and many other nationalities all live in a very congested area, there is very little communication between us. If we can infect them with a desire to participate then this can only have good results."
This legacy shaped what we know today as one of Europe's biggest street festivals, the Notting Hill Carnival.
??The Influence Story
Notting Hill Carnival is often only seen through the lens of the two-day street festival but there is so much more to the story than that.
Much of what happens over the August bank holiday weekend draws down on a rich history of Carnivals from the Caribbean countries of Trinidad, Grenada (Spicemas), Barbados (Cropover) as well as Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua and influences from Jamaica. This influence has impacted much of what we see today. So let’s break down all the elements of Carnival.
Panorama Steel Band Competition
This is held on the Saturday evening before the main carnival days. Panorama is the UK’s largest steel pan competition. Steel bands from across the country come to compete, showcasing their musical skills and elaborate performances. It’s a lively event that highlights the rich tradition of steel pan music within Caribbean culture.
J’ouvert (Opening Ceremony)
Derived from the French term "jour ouvert" (meaning "daybreak"), this marks the unofficial start of the carnival street festival early on Sunday morning. Participants cover themselves in mud, paint, and powder and dance through the streets to the sounds of soca and steelpan music or more recently with headphones to limit the noise in the morning. This event is a more spontaneous, free-form celebration that symbolizes the roots of carnival in emancipation and freedom. Many traditional songs, often sung in Creole can be heard on this morning too.
Children’s Day Parade (Family Day)
Sunday, the first main day of the carnival, is designated as Children's Day or Family Day. This day features a more family-friendly atmosphere with a parade specifically for children. Young participants dress in colourful costumes and join in the parade, dancing to Caribbean music. This event fosters a sense of community and provides a space for children to celebrate and learn about Caribbean heritage.
Adults Day
On Monday is the main event and is targeted primarily at adults. There is slightly more activity than Children's Day through music, dancing and costumes. Judging for the floats takes place at the end of this day.
Calypso and Soca Music Performances
Throughout the carnival, there are numerous stages, “floats” and sound systems set up around the area featuring live performances of calypso and soca music. These genres, integral to Caribbean culture, create a festive atmosphere, with both traditional and contemporary acts performing. This is quite integral to the heart of Carnival and is quite specific, even when other suggestions for music are optioned. For those following floats, this is known as playing Mas where steel orchestras as well as sound systems play music and are followed by those who will dress in masquerade.
Brazilian Bands
Since 1984 Brazilian bands have been a part of the processions. The drummers, dancers and African heritage from arguably the largest hosts of carnivals in the world add something different to the processions. The London School of Samba and Paraiso School are at the forefront of promoting samba and the essence of the Brazilian carnival spirit.
Sound Systems
Static sound systems are set up around the streets of Notting Hill. These sound systems play a wide range of music, including reggae, dub, house, hip-hop, and more. Each sound system has its vibe and following, and they create a diverse musical experience throughout the carnival area.
Caribbean Food Stalls
One of the major attractions of the carnival is the food. Hundreds of stalls are set up along the streets, offering a variety of Caribbean cuisine such as jerk chicken, roti, fried plantains, ackee and saltfish, patties, rum punch, coconut juice and much more. These stalls provide a taste of Caribbean culture and are a significant draw for many attendees.
Dance Performances and Workshops
Various groups perform traditional Caribbean dances and offer dance workshops. These performances often include genres like soca, dancehall, salsa and traditional Caribbean folk dances. Workshops allow attendees to learn new dance moves and engage more deeply with the culture.
Arts and Crafts
The carnival also features a variety of arts and crafts stalls where attendees can purchase handmade jewellery, clothing, art, and other crafts that often reflect Caribbean culture and traditions.
After-Parties and Club Nights
In addition to the daytime festivities, numerous after-parties and club nights occur across London during the carnival weekend. These events often feature top DJs and live performances, and continue the carnival vibe late into the night.
??The Economic Story
Research by JN Bank economist James Williams estimates the carnival's direct economic impact to be over ￡396 million annually.?This includes spending on food, shopping, entertainment, travel, and accommodation.
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“The Impact of Major Events on London’s Economy 2017-20, an independent report produced in 2021 by professional services firm Hatch and London & Partners, stated “it is estimated that every visit to a concert or cultural event generated an average ￡23 to the London economy”; specific market research at the 2018 Notting Hill Carnival found an average additional spend of ￡54 per carnival goer. With estimates of 1 million carnival attendees, this research shows that Notting Hill Carnival contributes between ￡23m and ￡54m per year to the London economy, based on attendees alone, but is expected to be much higher through indirect impacts from the promotion of London nationally and internationally.” - The Mayors Office
An Economic Impact Study of the carnival found that it supported the equivalent of 3,000 full-time jobs and that 40,000 volunteers work to help the event run smoothly.
Many residents have been known to work in partnership with the Notting Hill Carnival planners to provide additional restroom facilities and have been known to make a good penny if you pardon the pun.
The costs of running Carnival are estimated to be about ￡10m.
Security and Policing: This is one of the most significant expenses. Due to the large crowds, the event requires a substantial police presence to manage safety and security, often involving thousands of officers. Security measures include private security firms, crowd control barriers, and surveillance systems.
Infrastructure and Logistics: Setting up stages, sound systems, sanitation facilities, medical services, and street cleaning are major logistical efforts that are part of the overall cost. Road closures and the installation of safety barriers are also significant expenses.
Performers and Participants: While many performers and participants volunteer their time or are supported by community groups, there are still costs associated with costumes, materials, float construction, and the logistics of organizing the parade routes.
Licensing and Administration: The carnival requires various licenses and permits, including those for street trading, alcohol, and public entertainment. Additionally, administrative costs, including staff salaries and office expenses, contribute to the overall budget.
Marketing and Promotion: Efforts to promote the event, attract visitors, and ensure effective communication with attendees also incur costs.
The funding for the Notting Hill Carnival comes from a variety of sources, including:
Whichever way you cut it, the economic story is net positive for London. Even if this is not always positioned as the main story. Which leads to the next narrative.
??The Crime Story
It is important to highlight this data as part of a wider story so here is the data from the Metropolitan Police site for Notting Hill 2024.
In essence, we see a sharp rise in offences between Sunday (Children’s Day) and Monday It is important to note that there were eight stabbings at the event, one of which was fatal. In addition, the Met reported the death of a man by head injury in the vicinity, but not at Carnival.
it is estimated that 1 million or more people visited the Notting Hill Carnival over the two days of which 0.0349% committed an offence. This should give context.
The Met Police and community groups also work together to herd off potential clashes at the event by a minority of troublemakers. It is estimated that 60-80 arrests were made before the event and several individuals known to the Police were banned from entering.
There have also been knife arches, which have ramped up, after the failure of the effectiveness of facial recognition to detect known troublemakers.
There is no denying that even if a small percentage of those who attend Carnival contribute to personal and property offences, it is still a problem. One stabbing, assault or death is one too much. This is still a dominant narrative wielded by media and detractors who want to see this street festival ended or moved. Although there are other Carnivals held across the UK in Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham, the scale size and particulars of the London Carnival are very different. Crime remains a problem that needs to be addressed collectively given the unique nature of this event.
?? The Future Story
There has been handwringing and curtain twitching about how to move forward with Carnival and thus how to shape a new story. Many have suggested (and tried) to move the event to Hyde Park. The biggest problem with that for many is that Carnival no longer becomes a street festival, which kind of defeats the point.
Several other issues crop up as well.
Capacity. The largest events at the park have catered to a maximum of 200,000 people. Carnival caters to a million people. The capacity to manage five times that amount would be a logistical and unrealistic nightmare for the space.
Parade. A central pillar of Carnival is the parade of the 60-70 or so floats. Like so many other street festivals around the world, you cannot contain this capacity in a single venue like Hyde Park. That undermines the whole point.
Catering. Hyde Park has strict laws around food and drink. You can bring food and drink in personally but you can't cook food on the premises. So out goes all those jerk and fried culinary options that are part and parcel of the event.
And so two of the bigger issues for consideration for those shaping the new story should/could include
Ticketing. Many of the larger carnivals around the world have ticketed events for the parades. Even if at a nominal rate, it would be a good thing if ticketing was introduced for those who wanted to enter the street parades, including those living locally. It could also be an additional way of reducing criminal activity if thought out effectively.
Community Policing. There is a large police presence for the event and unfortunately, it has been positioned as not so much of a partnership. There continues to be a fractured relationship between the Black community and policing - outside of the small percentage of those who commit crimes - and it would be important for communications in the run-up to and after carnival to be done more in partnership rather than us and them.
This piece opened with the challenge of considering that a story has many sides.
Those who go to continue a legacy of remembrance for freedom of expression. Those who will spend many months practising music, dancing and designing costumes will have a different view than those who live there and see it as a minor two-day inconvenience (or way of making money)
The police drafted in to do overtime work, many of whom don’t live in the capital may not see it as an opportunity to celebrate and media commentators who don’t see it as very British will also have their own story.
The truth is somewhere in the middle. There is both good and bad to one of the most iconic events in the UK calendar. Choosing to lean into just one side of the story doesn’t serve anyone.
It is time to embrace that there is more than one story, and an ever-evolving one, for the Notting Hill Carnival.
Further reading
#storytelling #datastorytelling #narrative
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2 个月Dave, great to have you speaking and storytelling again for us - thank you. This was a great reminder of the problem wiht one story becoming the only story and this blights the experience of life whose lives are mediated by the perceptions of the skin we live in. I remember talking to some young white guys who saw carnival as an opportunity to get some weed as 'the police turn a blind eye and Black people are ok with it' It was the single story out of the many stories of carnival and the complexity of carnival was way beyond their perspective. For many years I ran a Black Mental Health service sitting in the middle of carnival and not surprisingly our members gained a lot of value from this period of being involved in carnival and the experience of 'being seen' for that short time. So, what did I learn from this... well, to live our culture is the best way to protect it, but we should never lose the ability to think critically about our cultural expressions. David - your article brings together the essential requirement to value 'our tings' aswell as understanding the limitations of them.
Public Health Strategist | Building Digital Solutions for Black Womens Fibroids Care | Developing Voice Acting Skills | Mentor for Aspiring Public Health & Wellbeing Professionals
2 个月The future stories would do well to embrace consultation with the African Caribbean communities across the life course. Excited by the future stories of Carnival and how it can help contribute to tackling some of the wider determinants of health through year long interventions whilst staying true to our cultural traditions. Great piece david mcqueen (Ps the influence of the Jamaican Sound System at NHC is so underrated ????)
Connecting entrepreneurs and businesses to the data, information, or resources that they need to take action and achieve their goals | Senior Knowledge Management & Research Professional | Expressing personal reflections
2 个月david mcqueen - Thank you for bringing together the many strands that make Notting Hill Carnival so significant contextually, culturally, historically, financially, and intersectionally.
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2 个月Thanks david mcqueen great article, balanced, well written and insightful.
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2 个月Thank you David for sharing this. I love Carnival, Aba Shanti is my place to be ???? I agree the crime stats are a bit misleading. If you put 1 million people anywhere for a day something bad will happen. It’s inevitable. However I do see the prevalent knife culture as extremely negative and it’s extremely disconcerting for those outside London to see machetes being brandished on the streets of our capital city at a *community event*. The issue is significant and really not being addressed properly by anyone in government or the wider community, so far as I can tell - I.e. every young man of Afro-Caribbean heritage I know in London has lost someone close to them to violent assault before the age of 20, and most of the time it’s because of an attack by someone else they know (generally from school or college). I’ve even seen gangs of young men around 15-16 hunting each other with blades on the streets of Hackney. Blew my mind when I understood what was going on. The problem is acute and getting worse and no amount of street celebrations can gloss over it. What do we do about this? Serious question.